


I Don't Want to Hold Your Gaze

by anonymousduchess



Series: All the Ways That Count [1]
Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League (2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Gen, M/M, Misunderstandings, bruce has no idea what to do, can you really blame him though?, clark has trust issues, nightmare/bad dream sequence, one-sided clark kent/bruce wayne - Freeform, or so clark thinks, so many people wanted him dead and gone :C, talk about feeling helpless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 16:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11604129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousduchess/pseuds/anonymousduchess
Summary: What's the best way to take down the leader of a team? Take him down from the inside; attack with something he can't train for and that is completely unexpected.





	I Don't Want to Hold Your Gaze

**Author's Note:**

> While I wanted the ending to be a surprise, I wanted to be careful and let possible readers know a bit of what is happening in the story so I possibly spoiled some of it in the tags. But I think there will be more surprises! The next chapter for my other story "Everybody wants [doesn't want] to be a cat" is still in progress, but it should be out soon! For now, I hope you enjoy this! I was going to make it a one-shot, but my heart can't take straight-up against, especially when it can all be resolved at the end. So, be on the lookout for a sequel at some point. 
> 
> I've been itching to read a story where Clark is the less-trusting one and Bruce has to be the one to eventually be like "Hey, we're cool now, okay?" I love switching up dynamics, so let's see if this is successful!
> 
> Title of work taken from "Free Me" by Sia.

Before he opened his eyes, he was feeling sick. Something definitely wasn't right. His head felt like it was being pressed inside of a vice and he groaned, trying not to wince anymore since that only seemed to make the pain worse.

"Do you feel that?" A garbled voice barely reached his ears. This was starting to sound familiar.

"That's pain." The voice said again, and Clark opened his eyes just in time to see a metal boot come down heavily onto his chest. "That's what pain feels like."

The voice and the choice of words were so familiar, yet different. Clark didn't think that the whole statement on pain had actually happened, but that garbled voice dripping with hatred had definitely been present in this memory. As he struggled to remember, he felt the boot crushing his sternum again, and he was certain that the bone might actually snap any minute. The idea of it had fear flashing in his eyes, and the voice chuckled darkly.

"I have to admit that I doubted whether or not you could feel fear." There was pride in that tone, and Clark glared up at the familiar figure in metal armor. Half of the helmet was missing, and even though Clark  _knew_ that face, he couldn't think of the man's name.

If it hadn't been for the consistent pressure on his chest, Clark might have just told this creature that he could absolutely feel fear. He'd felt it as he watched his father be sucked into a volcano; felt it whenever he had to look his mother in the eye after not doing anything to save his father, even though he'd been told not to interfere; felt it whenever Lois was in danger. Yes, he was confident in his physical indestructibility; it was his emotional fragility that made him uneasy (and, okay, even downright fearful) sometimes.

Somehow, he managed to wriggle out from under the metal boot and found himself staring the other man down. It was probably going to use up the last of his strength, but he wanted and needed this man to be as far away from him as possible. The further away the threat was, the better Clark would feel. So, he used both hands to push the man as far as he could... Which wasn't nearly as far as usual if he'd had his full strength. He watched as the enemy stood up and smirked wickedly. Suddenly, the man was grabbing a spear and getting ready to pounce.

Clark could feel the panic rise in his chest, coming at him with the same kind of force as Batman, who was currently holding a kryptonite spear and running, aiming straight for his chest. Panic clawed its way up from the ground and wrapped around his feet like vines, keeping him frozen in place, unable to move no matter how desperately he tried. And, oh, how he'd tried.

"Clark!"

Clark's eyes shot open and he half-gasped, half-shouted at the sudden change. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings and really see the white wall aligned with plastic and metal chairs in front of him; he was still seeing that abandoned harbor and that metal monster in the glow of the spear.

"Clark." The voice was less loud but still as firm as before. 

He'd just begun to calm himself down when that familiar voice pierced through his ears, and he felt himself begin to panic all over again. The adrenaline pumping through him was flooding his brain, causing him to run on auto-pilot. He immediately jumped back and fell off of the cot he'd been sitting on. The pain from landing on his back didn't register, but he couldn't be sure if that was due to being back to normal or from survival being his only focus at the moment. He continued backing up until a wall stopped him.

"Clark–"

"Stay back!" He commanded with a growl. 

The Bat blinked and stopped dead in his tracks, even putting one foot behind him in an attempt to back up. 

Clark could feel his eyes begin to burn as his eyes glowed a bright red. 

"Superman, it's alright–"

Clark couldn't take hearing that voice right now. The voice belonging to the man who had once tried to kill him. Wait, he'd tried to kill him twice, right? Or was that just some kind of bad dream? A hallucination?

"Stay. Away!" It took everything that was left of Clark's willpower to look that phantom shadow in the face. Through all of this fear and instinct, something was telling Clark that he needed to remember who was behind the cowl. But that voice of reason was quiet and vanished as quickly as it had come.

It only took a matter of seconds for the burn from his heat vision to turn painful, and Clark groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his hands against his temples. So his heat vision was back, but it would take awhile for his pain tolerance to return. Great. Of course things had to work backward when he was trying to protect himself. Just as he moved to swing at the dark figure, a pair of hands stopped him. Something that could hold his strength at bay? Clark didn't like that one bit. Was there kryptonite around?

"Bruce, move!" A strong, feminine voice commanded. 

Bruce?

And that voice was Diana's.

"Kryptonite," was all that Clark could manage to say. He felt like he was drowning, and despite Diana's clear tone, he could hardly hear her under the rushing waterfall in his ears.

"The kryptonite is gone, Clark. You're safe now." Diana loosened her grip slightly and placed a comforting hand on Clark's shoulder.

"I..." He finally allowed himself to look around as the glowing in his eyes subsided. The dirty white walls, dim fluorescent lighting, and linoleum flooring told him that he was in some kind of medical facility. "Where am I?"

Before Diana could respond, Bruce stepped up. "We're all in some kind of experimental asylum. Barely funded, and I know little-to-nothing about it yet."

Even though Clark knew, logically, that it was only a modulator causing that intimidating sound, it still triggered the base fear in him, and he tensed up again. He felt Diana's grip tighten on him as he squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away from Bruce.

Only Diana caught the slight falter in Bruce's expression. 

"So how do we get out? I'd like to save the details of what happened for later," he looked over at Diana, pointedly ignoring the Bat so he could continue to relax.

"Cyborg found a way out. He and the others are clearing a path as we speak," she replied, her gaze on him never faltering. He knew that she was looking for a sign that he would lose it again, but he couldn't blame her. He wasn't ignorant of how dangerous he was when he wasn't guarded. 

"How's your strength?" Batman asked, taking another step towards Clark. There was no sign of aggression in his stance, but Clark still found himself backing away.

Noticing this, Batman stopped and stared at Clark's boots with a bemused expression.  

"I'm strong enough to walk out of here," Clark replied, not intending for his voice to be so biting. "But I can't... Your voice is– Just... keep your distance, if you can? Please?"

Batman's eyes shot up to meet his, and there was a pause (during which Batman's expression was once again unreadable) before the vigilante nodded slightly, almost reluctantly. Some kind of dark emotion flitted in Batman's eyes but it was gone before Clark could really analyze it. Knowing that the important thing was for all of them to get out of there, Clark took a deep breath and braced himself. With a nod to Diana, he strode out of the room.

Meanwhile, Bruce found himself standing in place long after Clark and Diana had left.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Having Clark be so shaken around him must make Bruce's heart hurt, no? >:3


End file.
